AEW All Out 2019 Review

Welcome to the TJRWrestling review of the second All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view called All Out featuring Chris Jericho facing Adam Page in the main event, plus The Young Bucks & The Lucha Brothers in a Ladder Match and Kenny Omega was up against Pac.

This was before AEW Dynamite started airing weekly in October 2019. At this point, there were only four AEW shows overall. This was the second pay-per-view AEW ran after Double or Nothing in May 2019.

This was written live on the night that it took place and remains untouched. Let’s roll.

AEW All Out
August 31, 2019
Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois

The announcers for the pre-show are Excalibur and Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez.

Casino Women’s Battle Royal – The Buy In

I missed the start of the Casino Battle Royal featuring the women’s wrestlers trying to earn an AEW Women’s Title match. I’ll just pick up from when I started it.

Nyla Rose was dominating with a double Chokeslam on Britt Baker along with somebody else. Rose with a uranage slam on Big Swole to eliminate her. Rose with a German Suplex on Penelope Ford and she eliminated her. The next five women made their entrance including Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Tenille Dashwood (former Emma), Ivelisse and Bea Priestly, who Baker attacked right away. Dashwood with a butterfly suplex on Ivelisse, who went crashing into Sadie Gibbs. Kong charged at Dashwood with a running shoulder tackle. Gibbs with a dropkick to Kong’s back, which led to Kong knocking down Brandi by accident. Rose had an impressive spot with Rose where she hit a Stunner, which drew cheers. Kong eliminated Dashwood and Ivelisse. The next women were Allie, Nicole Savoy, Teal Piper, ODB and Jazz. Allie went after Brandi with punches. Savoy got in Kong’s face, so Kong sent her into the ropes and Savoy hit a suicide dive onto three women on the floor. Piper with a thumb to the eye and a sleeper like her father Roddy Piper loved to do. Rose tossed out Savoy and Kong tossed out Piper. That meant Piper did nothing in the match. Kong and Rose matched up, then Jazz (who is bald now) broke it up and ODB got in their faces. The final woman in the match is Mercedes Martinez. The crowd popped big for her. Kong and Rhodes were tossed out. Martinez with a spinebuster on Allie and an overhead suplex on Baker. Martinez with a German Suplex on Gibbs. Martinez with a curb stomp and then she hit a belly to back suplex on Rose. Allie with a Death Valley Driver on Martinez. Allie charged at Martinez, who put Allie on the top rope and Rose knocked Allie off the apron to the floor. Gibbs with a press slam on Priestly, but Priestly came back by shoving Gibbs over the top to eliminate her.

The final four were Allie, Mercedes Martinez, Nyla Rose and Bea Priestly. Rose hit a Powerbomb on Priestly and then Baker and Martinez worked together to eliminate Rose. Martinez was eliminated after a kick combo from Priestly and Baker. Priestly with a kick to Rose’s head, Baker with a kick to Rose and when Rose was whipped to the ropes, she hung on. Rose with a cartwheel kick on the apron to knock both women down. Rose with a corner splash on both women. Baker with a Destroyer on Priestly. Baker with a suplex on Rose off the middle ropes. Priestly with a knee to Baker, then Priestly went over the top to the apron like a dummy and Baker hit a forearm to get rid of her. Priestly was on the floor, she grabbed the arm of Baker, so Rose flipped Baker over the top to eliminate her, which gave Rose the win.

Winner: Nyla Rose

Analysis: ** It was okay for a battle royal with some cool moments. I don’t really like battle royals. Rose started the match, so she was put over big as the victor of the match. I thought Baker was going to win since she has been featured in a lot of AEW marketing over the last few months, but Rose getting the win is fine with me. The fans were really into it probably because it was the first match on the show.

There was a video package hyping up Chris Jericho vs. Adam Page for the AEW World Title.

Jack Evans and Angelico vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)

Angelico and Kassidy started with some mat wrestling, then Kassidy with an arm drag and a heel kick. Quen tagged in with a headscissors, Evans landed on his feet and Evans hit a move, Quen’s glasses fell off, so Evans kicked them into the crowd. Quen with a dropsault to knock Evans down followed by some dancing. Kassidy tagged in with forearms to the face. Evans fought off both guys including a corkscrew kick to the head of Kassidy for two. Angelico with a running back elbow on Quen. Evans tagged in with a double foot stomp while Angelico held Quen. Evans rolled through, he put on an armbar and Quen put his hand on the bottom rope to break the hold. Quen sent Evans face first into the turnbuckle. Kassidy got the tag with a springboard dropkick on Evans. When Evans sent Kassidy out of the ring, he hit a hurricanrana on Angelico on the floor. Kassidy with a moonsault off the middle ropes onto Angelico on the floor for two. Kassidy jumped from outside the ropes over the top onto Evans for a two count. That was impressive. Quen with a double foot stomp to the back of Evans. Angelico sent Quen out of the ring, then Kassidy did this crazy athletic DDT on Angelico and that sent him out of the ring. Kassidy tagged in against Evans with a Stunner, superkick by Quen and a flipping neckbreaker. Kassidy hit a dive onto Angelico on the floor. Quen up top and he hit an incredible Shooting Star Press for two for Kassidy because he was not in the ring to cover. Evans with a German Suplex, Angelico grabbed the leg and Evans with a jumping kick. Angelico with a kick to the head while Evans held Kassidy and Evans with an assisted 450 Splash for two. Evans went up top, Quen stopped Angelico on the other side of the ring Quen with a Pele Kick on Angelico and then each Private Party member hit reverse Rana’s Evans. Quen with a hurricanrana off the top on Angelico leading to Kassidy hitting a Stunner on Angelico and that was enough for the pinfall win at 11:35. It was called Gin & Juice by the announcers.

Winners by pinfall: Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)

Analysis: *** It was a nice showing for Private Party, who do some of the best tag team moves I’ve ever seen. They are a young team with a bright future, so they still need to work on some things as a team, but the future is bright. I loved the finishing move they did.

It’s the first win for Private Party in AEW. Post match, Private Party shook hands with Evans and Angelico, but the kindness didn’t last. Evans attacked Quen from behind. Angelico with a rolling leg lock submission followed by an ankle lock. The fans chanted “Party Poopers” at them. Evans and Angelico celebrated their actions while the fans booed them.

Analysis: The post match attack from Angelico and Evans was predictable because they haven’t had a lot of success in AEW so far in terms of wins.

There was a video package for a guy named Wardlow, who beat up four random dudes in a parking lot.

MJF was interviewed backstage by Jenn Decker with MJF staring at her chest. MJF said that idiots on the internet asked him about a match on the card and he said he didn’t want a match on the card. The fans were chanting “turn it up” because they likely couldn’t hear it. MJF said he wants to be ringside with Cody Rhodes. She asked what happens if Cody doesn’t pick her, he laughed at her and said she has his number.

Jim Ross joined the announce team for the rest of the show.

——-

AEW All Out Main Show

The show began with a choir singing the American national anthem.

There was a video package promoting the big matches on the show. Good stuff as usual from the AEW production team.

There was a shot of the live crowd in Chicago and it was a packed house, which has become the norm for AEW shows. The announce team of Jim Ross, Excalibur and Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez welcomed us to the show. They ran down the matches on the card.

The So Cal Uncensored trio of Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky made their entrance. They did their pre-match promo routine saying this is the worst town they’ve ever been in. Daniels talked about how they were all in last year and you have three aces standing in front of you telling you AEW is All Out. Kazarian ended it leading to “SCU” chants.

The Jurassic Express trio of Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy and the tiny man Marko Stunt made their entrance. The fans loved them.

So Cal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) vs. The Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt)

Kazarian and Boy started the match with some mat wrestling. Kazarian with a clothesline, Daniels tagged in with a STO trip and Boy with an arm drag across the ring followed by a dropkick. Luchasaurus got in there with a kick to the chest of Daniels. The action spilled to the floor with Boy and Stunt hitting dives to the floor. Luchasaurus ran the ropes, he jumped off the middle ropes and did a flip over the top onto SCU guys. That was a cool spot that drew a huge pop. Stunt with a cross body block on Daniels. Kazarian tagged in with a leg lariat on Boy. Sky with a jumping double foot stomp on Boy’s back. Daniels knocked down Boy, did a dance and brought Kazarian in leading to a neckbreaker into a powerbomb combo for two. Boy came back with a clothesline on Daniels to put him down. Luchasaurus got the tag, kicks for everybody, he launched Sky into the air, kick to Kazarian and Luchasaurus with two kicks followed by a Chokeslam on Kazarian and a standing moonsault for two. The fans love Luchasaurus! Stunt tagged in with a DDT for two. SCU with a triple team on Luchasaurus where they flipped him over and hit a double knee attack. Kazarian jumped over the top with a hurricanrana on Luchasaurus to knock down Boy and Stunt. Sky with a somersault dive over the top onto Luchasaurus. Stunt and Boy were put in the arms of Kazarian leading to Daniels hitting the BME and that led to the pinfall win at 11:48.

Winners by pinfall: So Cal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky)

Analysis: ***1/4 That was a fun opening match. I thought Luchasaurus really stood out with his mix of power moves along with some of the aerial ability that he showed. The fans cared the most about Luchasaurus in this match, so even though his team lost, Luchasaurus really stood out with that performance. The SCU team is a well-polished group of veterans. They needed that victory. I picked SCU in this match.

Post match, SCU picked up their opponents and raised their hands as a sign of respect.

Kenny Omega got a huge ovation for his entrance. PAC made his entrance with ring announcer Justin Roberts saying “HE IS A BASTARD” with a lot of enthusiasm. Anyway, it’s my first time writing a review of a Pac match in a few years.

Kenny Omega vs. PAC

Pac was aggressive early, Omega went for a leg drop to the back of the head, but Pac landed on his feet. That was cool. Omega sent Pac out of the ring. Omega ran the ropes, Pac back in, hurricanrana by Pac and Omega sent Pac out of the ring again. Omega tried an attack over the top, but Pac kicked him in the ribs. They battled on the floor with Pac sending Omega back first into the barricade followed by Pac sending Omega chest first into the side of the ring apron. Back in the ring, Pac continued the attack with a missile dropkick. Pac grabbed a chinlock, Omega with a low baseball slide kick to send Pac to the floor and Omega hit a somersault dive over the top onto Pac on the floor. Omega’s legs hit the barricade, so AEW might want to consider moving the barricades back a bit in the future. They do seem a bit close. When they went back in the ring, Omega hit a missile dropkick to the back of the head followed by a Fisherman’s Buster suplex for a two count. Omega put Pac on the shoulders, Pac shoved him to the corner and Omega caught Pac on his shoulders. Omega with a rolling senton, but the moonsault attempt missed. Pac came back with a DDT off the ropes for a two count.

Pac went up top, Omega slipped out of the ring and Pac altered his plans by hitting a moonsault off the top rope onto Omega on the floor. Pac’s legs hit the barricade at ringside too. The referees in AEW don’t enforce the rules that often, so there was no count there. Pac sent Omega back in and hit a 450 Splash for a two count. Omega unleashed on Pac with punches and forearms. Pac came back with three elbows to the face. Omega with a big boot that sent Pac to the turnbuckle, Buckle Bomb by Kenny and a sitout spinebuster by Omega got a two count. Pac used the referee as a distraction, but Omega countered an attack with a dropkick. Omega with a cradle backbreaker followed by a V-Trigger knee to the face. Omega set up for his finish, but Pac fought out of it until Omega countered into a bridging German Suplex for two. Pac with a back body drop to get out of an attempted move by Omega. When Omega charged, Pac moved and hit a Cutter (RKO). Pac followed up with a snap German Suplex and a deadlift German Suplex got a two count. Omega came back by sending Pac face first into the turnbuckle. Omega with a Snapdragon Suplex followed by a V-Trigger knee to the head for a two count. Pac blocked a knee strike, Omega avoided a step up kick, Pac with two kicks to the face and Omega hit another V-Trigger knee to the face. That sounded loud and the fans popped big for it. They ran the ropes leading to Omega hitting another V-Trigger knee to the face. Pac tried a Reverse Rana, but they slipped and Omega got to his feet. Omega with chops followed by another knee lift to the face. Omega went for his One Winged Angel finish, but Pac locked in the Brutalizer submission where he was on Kenny’s back and he pulled back on the arms. After about 30 seconds, the referee called for the bell with Pac winning by submission at 23:20. The fans were shocked by the finish. They didn’t expect that to end the match.

Winner by submission: Pac

Analysis: **** Great match with a result that I was not expecting. It was a hard hitting match with plenty of strikes for both guys, several nearfalls that were believable and it was an even match the whole way. Omega went for his finish, Pac countered it and won by submission. What that win by Pac might mean that he has signed a deal to become a regular in AEW because why else would they put over a guy that didn’t have a contract? I’m not sure right now, but I think that means Pac will be back in AEW. He’s a great talent, so I’m hoping that he is there regularly. Omega has losses to Jericho and Pac now, so the assumption was he would get this win for the Moxley match. I’m sure Kenny will be fine in AEW long term.

The announcers kept talking about how Omega seemed off during the match because he might have been thinking about Moxley, so that’s why Pac got the win. It will be an interesting storyline to follow, but I am surprised by the Omega loss.

The trio of Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc and Joey Janela made their entrances. They lost as a trio previously, so now they are facing off in a triple threat. It’s called a “Cracker Barrel” Clash because AEW has Cracker Barrel as a sponsor. It also means it’s a hardcore match with weapons allowed.

Cracker Barrel Clash: Joey Janela vs. Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc

Havoc left the ring to get weapons from under the ring including three chairs, a table and a staple gun that he brought into the ring. Havoc put some staples into his body. JR: “What’s wrong with this guy?” Exactly. Janela worked over Havoc with elbows and Allin got some tape that he used to tape Havoc to a chair. Havoc spit at Allin, Janela with a superkick to Havoc, Allin put thumbtacks in the mouth of Havoc and Janela taped the mouth of Havoc. The crowd reacted to the insanity in a big way. Janela battled Allin with Allin hitting a suicide dive that sent Janela back first into the barricade. Allin with an arm drag off the top followed by a flip into a stunner. Allin went up top and he did senton splash onto Havoc on the chair, which led to Havoc getting knocked off the chair. The fans chanted “HOLY SHIT” for it with JR letting us know what they were saying. Janela grabbed Allin by the turnbuckle and gave him an Emerald Frosion (cradle body slam) on the ring apron. The crowd popped big for that. Janela got a tennis racket, which was a Jim Cornette reference, so he tossed it away. Cornette has been very critical of some wrestlers of late including Janela, so that’s what that spot was about. Havoc got back up, took the tape off his mouth, spit thumbtacks in his hand and threw them at Janela. Havoc with an eye poke to Janela, which drew applause followed by a whip into the steel steps. Janel was on the top, Havoc with a forearm and a slam off the shoulders for a two count. Havoc used a paper on the extended fingers of Janela with fans reacting to it as if it was deadly. It really doesn’t hurt that much, but hey, it’s all about selling. Havoc put a stable on the head of Janela, then a monkey flip with Janela landing on the chair and Havoc did a paper cut to the mouth. Janela did a brainbuster on Havoc onto an open chair. Janela went after Allin on the apron and did a flipping Powerbomb over the top and through a table! The fans chanted “HOLY SHIT” for that and it was justified because that was crazy.

The fans chanted “Cracker Barrel” as Janela went up top, he went for a moonsault, Havoc moved and Janela had a rough landing on the floor. Havoc threw a tray of biscuits at Janela. At least the tray sounds loud. Havoc brought a barrel down to the ring, Janela with a punch to the groin and then when he went back in the ring, Janela hit a running clothesline. Allin had a skateboard, he hit Janela in the face with it and the bottom of the skateboard is covered in tacks. Allin jumped onto the back of Janela with the skateboard and some tacks were in Joey’s back. That was very creative. Havoc pulled Allin out of the ring to prevent the pin, then he whipped him into the steel steps. Allin jumped off the apron and put Havoc through a table. Allin whipped Havoc into the steel steps. While on the ground, Havoc fired the staple gun at Allin, so Allin grabbed him put Havoc on the steel steps. Allin grabbed one of the barrels, he put it on his back and jumped off backwards, but Havoc moved and Allin broke the barrel when he hit the steps. That was rough! Havoc battled Janela in the ring with Joey hitting a DDT off the top rope. Janela went up top and hit an elbow drop for a two count. Janela still had thumbtacks in his back. Janela brought a second barrel into the ring, he put it on Havoc’s chest and Janela tried going to the top, but Havoc stopped him with a forearm. Havoc gave Janela a superplex with the legs of Janela going through the barrel. That was probably supposed to be the whole body of Janela through the barrel. Havoc hit a lefty Acid Rainmaker for the pinfall win at 15:07.

Winner by pinfall: Jimmy Havoc

Analysis: ***1/4 That was pretty wild as expected. It’s not my favorite style of wrestling, but they all did a good job of doing some creative spots and taking big bumps along the way. That spot where Janela jumped over the top rope to put Allin through the table with a Powerbomb was crazy. The barrel spot onto the steps was insane too. I picked Janela to win although it didn’t really matter who the winner was. This was more about having an entertaining hardcore match, which is what they did. Even though Havoc won, I thought Janela was the star of this match and Allin had some cool moments too.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) w/The Creepers vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta)

The winners of this match get a first-round bye in the AEW tag tournament.

The crowd was firmly behind the babyface Best Friends team while Dark Order were the heels. Trent got the tag, double clothesline and a big hug leading to cheers. Taylor knocked Grayson to the floor and then a dropkick to Uno followed by a splash by Trent. Grayson tagged in, Uno pulled Trent out of the ring and Grayson hit a dropkick to send Trent into the barricade. Grayson with a springboard elbow drop into a slam by Uno for a two count. Grayson hit a nice splash on Trent, who was the face in peril and Grayson worked over Trent some more. Trent was sent into the turnbuckle, but then he bounced back with a huge clothesline to knock down Grayson. Uno made the tag, prevented Trent from tagging out and Dark Order stomped away on Trent. Grayson was sent over the top to the floor by Trent and when Trent tried to make the tag, Grayson pulled Taylor off the apron. The camera missed it. Bad work by the director. Anyway, Grayson back in with a kick for a two count. The big guy Uno went for a corner splash, Trent moved and hit a swinging DDT. Taylor got the hot tag with clotheslines, standing Sliced Bread neckbreaker and a powerbomb got a two count. Taylor sent Grayson over the top to the floor. Taylor followed up with a running somersault dive over the top onto both opponents. They need to replay moves like that, but they didn’t. Uno missed a splash, Grayson with a kick, Trent with a back elbow and Taylor launched Grayson into the air with Trent hitting a German Suplex. Taylor back in with a launch into the Ace Crusher for a two count. JR said there will be another name for that move because he’s boycotting it. The name came from Johnny Ace aka WWE’s John Laurinaitis. Grayson with a jumping back kick to the head of both opponents. Uno with a pump kick on Trent. Grayson hit a twisting splash onto Taylor and the Dark Order’s “creepers” in masks. Uno jumped off the top with a Swanton Bomb on Trent for two. Grayson in with a knee to the face, then a belly to belly suplex that sent Trent into Taylor and Grayson hit a 450 Splash on Trent for two while Uno hit a cannonball on Taylor at the same time. That 450 Splash got a two count. Taylor shoved Grayson off the top, Trent rolled up Uno, Taylor tagged in and there were two knees to the face. Taylor with a kick followed by Trent hitting an overhead suplex on Grayson. Taylor picked up Grayson and turned it into a piledriver like move, Trent covered for two and Uno pulled Trent out of the ring. The Creepers attacked Taylor and they whipped him into the steel steps with the referee not seeing it. Uno held up Trent, Grayson jumped off with the flipping neckbreaker and they call that the Fatality. Uno covered Trent to win at 13:40.

Winners by pinfall: The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson)

Analysis: **3/4 This was just an average match without many interesting spots. They just didn’t do enough to make me care about the match. The crowd has been hot for most of the event, but they went quiet for some of this match probably because the Dark Order isn’t well established yet. I picked the Dark Order to win just because I thought they needed it more as the heel team.

Post match, Grayson attacked Taylor by tossing him into the barricade. The Creepers picked up Trent to carry him away, but the lights went out in the arena.

When the lights came on, Orange Cassidy was in the ring with his jean jacket, jeans and sunglasses. The fans cheered him. Cassidy ran the ropes with his hands in his pocket, he ran the ropes and hit a suicide dive onto The Creepers at ringside to knock them down. The fans loved it. Back in the ring, Orange Cassidy did a kip up. The fans chanted “Freshly Squeezed” for him. JR: “Who is this guy?” They told JR his name, Excalibur said that Taylor and Trent know him well, so the Best Friends gave Cassidy a hug.

Analysis: Orange Cassidy is a unique gimmick that’s not for everybody, but give him credit for being committed to it with the comedy gimmick where he is a guy that lacks aggressiveness. I’m not a huge fan of the concept although sometimes it’s funny. This was booked well.

The commercial aired promoting AEW on TNT starting on October 2. They still need to announce the name of the show.

Hikaru Shida vs. Riho

The winner of this match will face Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s World Title on AEW on TNT on October 2. Riho is only 22 years old and started wrestling at nine years old, so she’s a 13-year veteran, which his weird to say at that age. Shida is 31 years old.

Shida with a shoulder tackle while JR noted that Riho was 98 pounds. Shida with a backbreaker, Riho with a dropkick and Shida came back with a running knee against the turnbuckle. Shida with a backbreaker to take control followed by another backbreaker. Shida slapped on a single leg crab. Shida put Riho on her shoulder, set her up against the turnbuckle and Shida with the running knee to the back for two. Riho with a headscissors takedown, then Shida charged and Riho sent her to the floor. Riho went up top, Shida teased a suplex, Riho knocked her down and Riho hit a double foot stomp off the top to the ribs of Shida. Riho set up Shida by the ropes, she went for the 619, but Shida caught her to stop. Riho got some momentum going and then Shida hit another jumping knee to knock her down. Shida hit a delayed suplex on Riho that the announcers put over as impressive, but Riho is so small that I don’t know that it is impressive. Shida hit a running knee to knock Riho down again. Shida sent Riho to the apron, step up enziguri kick and Shida hit a superplex for two. JR complained about the lazy cover, which he had done many times throughout the night. Shida picked her up, but Riho came back with a Northern Lights suplex to take down Shida. They battled by the turnbuckle, Riho kicked her and hit a stomp off the turnbuckle for a two count. Riho with a running knee attack for a two count. Riho went up top, she jumped off, knees to the back, Shida with a takedown and a backbreaker off the shoulders for two. Riho off the ropes, she spun around the body of Shida and held her down for the pinfall win at 13:35.

Winner by pinfall: Riho

Analysis: *** It was a solid match with a title shot on the line, but this is why they need better storylines because it’s hard to get into these matches sometimes. It’s two people I have barely heard of. Riho is impressive as a babyface that can take a lot of punishment and she keeps coming back for more. Shida worked well as more of a heel in this match. It was the right way to do the match since the fans were behind Riho as soon as the match began. The finish felt flat to me.

The win means that it will be Riho vs. Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s Title on October 2 on the AEW on TNT debut. Rose entered on the stage for a staredown.

There was a video package to set up Cody vs. Shawn Spears, who has Tully Blanchard with him as a manager. Cody and Shawn were very good friends going back to their OVW days in the mid-2000s, then Spears showed up in AEW and crushed Cody’s head with a steel chair. That set up this match.

Shawn Spears made his entrance. He was seated on a steel chair with a spotlight on him. I don’t remember those left arm tattoos that he has now, so that’s a bit of a new look for him. Excalibur pointed out that Spears had the same chair that he used to hit Cody in the head. Tully Blanchard made his entrance as the manager of Spears. Tully wrestled Dusty Rhodes many times in their careers, so the story is that he knows the Rhodes family well. Spears was introduced as the self-proclaimed “Chairman of AEW” and Spears had some white contacts in his eyes.

Brandi Rhodes walked down a hallway with her dog Pharaoh, she had on a Star Trek-inspired gear, Diamond Dallas Page was with her in Star Trek gear and Maxwell Jacob Friedman aka MJF was with them. Cody also had a Star Trek-style shirt on him. There was some pyro that went off on the stage and you could see that Pharaoh the dog was freaked out from the pyro. Cody was picking MJF to support him.

Analysis: The Cody/MJF relationship is part of a long-term storyline. The idea is that MJF idolizes Cody, says he’s his best friend and all this other stuff, but what’s likely going to happen soon is MJF will turn on him to remain a heel while Cody is more of a face. I think it’s smart to have the more established Cody hanging out with a rising star like MJF because it’s going to elevate MJF when they have their feud. Also, I feel bad for Pharaoh the dog for getting scared like that. I’m sure he’s fine now, but they need to be more aware of stuff like that. I saw there was a lot of chatter on Twitter about Pharaoh’s reaction to the pyro. I hope he’s not affected by it.

Cody with a suicide dive on Spears, then he punched Blanchard on his ass. Cody tossed Spears over the barricade and they went brawling into the crowd. The bell has not officially begun with fans screaming in support of Cody. They continued to brawl into the aisle, Cody with a punch to the face and they went back to ringside. They went back in the ring to start the match.

Cody (w/MJF) vs. Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard)

This is one of the matches on this show where they have a well-established storyline with Cody firmly as the face seeking revenge against the heel Spears.

After the bell rang, the action spilled to the floor with Cody hitting a powerslam on the floor. Blanchard went over to distract Cody, which led to a low blow from Spears that was missed by referee Earl Hebner because he was looking at MJF for some reason. Spears with an elbow to the back of the head. They battled by the turnbuckle with Cody hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope. Spears blocked a diving attempt with a punch to the head. Spears with a pump kick to the face of Cody while he was against the turnbuckle. Back in the ring, Spears with a clothesline followed by punches. Cody went for a spear, but Spears moved and Cody went shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Spears hit a DDT on the side of the ring apron. Spears took off the belt of Cody, then he pushed Hebner and Hebner pushed him back. Hebner took the leather belt, so Blanchard gave Spears his regular belt. Cody fired up (he’s Cody-ing up like Hulking Up?), he no-sold a belt shot and kicked Spears. Cody with a springboard into a Cutter (RKO) followed by a stare towards the hard camera. Cody with an Alabama Slam put Spears down. Cody let out a “WOO” followed by a Figure Four Leglock, but Spears countered it to put the pressure on Cody. Blanchard held the hand of Spears for more leverage, but Hebner didn’t see it. Cody got to the bottom rope to break the hold. They left the ring with Spears putting Cody onto his shoulders and slammed him off with Cody taking a hard bump onto the steel ramp. There was no count while they were out of the ring, which seemed to be a running theme on this show. Spears lowered his knee pad to expose the knee, Cody stopped Spears from attacking and hit the Cross Rhodes neckbreaker. Blanchard on the banner, he distracted Hebner and MJF went on the apron opposite him. Blanchard went in the ring with MJF for a showdown where MJF threw his scarf at him. Blanchard grabbed MJF and Spears hit a pump kick to hit MJF out of the ring. Blanchard stomped away on MJF, Hebner was outside the ring with them even though they have nothing to do with the match and that led to Arn Freakin’ Anderson to walk down to the ring. Arn is bigger than he was during his career, but he was still moving fine and the fans popped HUGE for him. Anderson went in the ring, Spears went after him and Arn hit the patented spinebuster! Blanchard was shocked to see what Arn did considering they were former tag team partners. Blanchard went to the back after Anderson.

The focus was back on the match with Spears sending Cody back first into the apron. Spears grabbed a steel chair from under the ring, but Cody greeted him with a kick and a flatliner takedown that didn’t look great. Cody teased hitting Spears with a chair shot, then he dropped the chair and did a Dusty flip, flop and fly elbow routine. Cody tossed the chair to Spears and gave him a Disaster Kick into the chair, which apparently is okay because the referee did nothing about it. Cody hit the Cross Rhodes neckbreaker for the pinfall win at 16:20.

Winner by pinfall: Cody

Analysis: ***1/2 This was pretty good with Cody winning the match to get revenge for Shawn’s cheap attack against him. One of the problems with the match is that while the Anderson spot drew a big pop, it made no sense that Hebner would be out of the ring looking at the guys on the floor instead of the two wrestlers that were in the ring. There were several matches on this show with questionable refereeing where they don’t count people out of the ring. This one may have had the most flexible rules of them all. I also think fans aren’t familiar with Spears matches that much, so the reaction to his offense was weak. In my preview, I picked Spears to win because I thought he needed it as a heel. Cody winning doesn’t do that much for me because he’s going to have credibility either way. I just think Spears winning would have helped him.

The spinebuster by Arn is so respected in the wrestling business that The Rock even tweeted about it last night.

So much fun for the crowd!! Double A!! Spine on the pine. No one better!! And great call @JRsBBQ 👏🏾👊🏾

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 1, 2019

After the match, MJF got the steel chair in his hand while standing behind Cody. The fans reacted to it with a “no” and MJF tossed the chair down. MJF got a hug from Cody. They both fired up the crowd while Cody kissed the AEW letters in the center of the ring.

Analysis: MJF staring at Cody with the chair is the tease of the future turn. There’s no need to do it right away. They will build up to it and I expect them to have a big feud after it happens.

There was a video package for the Lucha Brothers defending the AAA Tag Team Titles against The Young Bucks.

The Lucha Brothers duo of Pentagon and his younger brother Fenix made their entrance. These guys are outstanding wrestlers. The crowd gave them a nice ovation.

The Young Bucks brother duo of Matt Jackson and his younger brother Nick Jackson entered wearing some masks on their heads. There were Young Bucks bills that were sent into the crowd.

Analysis: There’s not much of a storyline and both teams are faces to the fans. They have wrestled many times this year. It’s just a matter of seeing who the better team is.

Escalera De La Muerte (Ladder Match) for the AAA World Tag Team Championship: Lucha Brothers (Pentagon and Fenix) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson)

They started with some trash talking, the Bucks spit in the face and Lucha Brothers kicked them. Matt held Fenix in position for the finish, but Pentagon stopped Nick. Fenix with a running Powerbomb on Matt. Pentagon went up top and hit a dropkick to the groin of Matt. Lucha Bros tried a charging attack, but the Bucks stopped them by tossing a ladder in their faces. Matt launched Nick into the air with Nick hitting a double dropkick. Matt launched Fenix to the Buckle Bomb, Nick with a kick to the head and a double stomp off the ropes. Pentagon and Fenix kicked the Bucks off a ladder. Pentagon jumped off a ladder onto both Bucks. Fenix jumped to the top rope, went over the ladder with a somersault dive that took out both Bucks on the floor. Lucha Bros set up a ladder, Bucks went after them, Fenix and Nick went on the ladder, then they went down, then Matt and Pentagon punched eachother on the ladder. Fenix and Nick hit Cutters to take down the brothers. Nick and Fenix hit eachother with kicks at the same time. Matt and Pentagon hit double spears through two tables on the floor. Pentagon worked over Matt with kicks to the back of the leg. When Pentagon was sent to the floor, Nick hit a springboard twisting moonsault onto him! That was cool. Matt hit four Northern Lights Suplexes onto Fenix in a row with the last one going into the ladder. Fenix recovered with a springboard hurricanrana off the top onto Nick that sent Nick crashing onto a ladder. The fans chanted “AEW” for them. Fenix off a ladder onto Matt and Pentagon with a springboard cross body block on Nick. Matt with a press slam followed by a Spear. Nick with a kick to Pentagon, then a face first slam onto Fenix in the ring. Nick with a moonsault onto Pentagon on the floor. Nick with a springboard onto the ladder, Fenix pushed the ladder and Nick jumped off the top rope to the floor onto Pentagon. Matt pushed the ladder, so Fenix did the same thing with a dive onto the guys on the floor.

Pentagon prevented a climb from Matt and he hit a Slingblade neckbreaker off the ladder. Pentagon kicked the leg of Nick, who then sent Pentagon to the floor and Nick hit a somersault dive over the top onto Pentagon on the floor. Fenix jumped off the ropes followed by a Destroyer on Matt. The fans cheered that. That was tremendous. Fenix set up Matt on a table that was under the ladders, Matt went after him with a suplex attempt and Pentagon got involved. Pentagon hit a sunset flip Destroyer through the table. Wow! The move was impressive with Pentagon taking the bulk of the bump by going ass first through the table. They did that as safe as they could. The fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Nick jumped off a ladder onto Pentagon through the table and across the ring, Fenix did the same thing to Matt. Nick hit a jumping DDT off the apron and onto Fenix on the floor. Nick set up two tables beside eachother at the bottom of the ramp. Nick went into the ring, he teased a Powerbomb on Fenix through a table, but Fenix hit a kick and then Matt with a superkick on Fenix. Pentagon pulled Matt down, Nick slapped on the Sharpshooter on Pentagon and Matt slapped on a Crossface on Pentagon. Fenix tried a climb, Nick stopped him by sending him face first into the top of the ladder. Pentagon shoved Nick while he was on top of the ladder and Pentagon shoved the ladder over, so Nick bumped through the table on the floor. Nick’s feet hit the top rope on the way down, so it was a rough landing. When Pentagon went up the ladder with Matt, that led to Matt pulling the mask off his face. Pentagon was covering his face as best he could. Matt kicked Fenix with a superkick, but then Fenix took down Matt. Pentagon put his mask back on. Fenix jumped off the top with a double foot stomp onto Matt, who was piledriven by Pentagon onto a ladder. Fenix and Pentagon climbed up the ladders and they each pulled a title down to win the match and retain the titles at 21:02.

Winners: The Lucha Brothers

Analysis: ****1/2 That was insane and a lot of fun to watch. I’ve seen them wrestle many times, so some of the spots looked familiar, but then they did stuff like a Destroyer off a ladder through a table that was incredible. I give them a lot of credit for coming up with some of the spots that they did. The Lucha Brothers winning was what I thought since the AAA titles defended on an AEW show is likely to end now that AEW TV is coming soon and they’ll have their own tag team titles. Some stuff I didn’t like was when the brothers on opposite sides were doing moves at the same time. We are to assume that Nick would rather do a move on an opponent instead of helping Matt? It draws a reaction, but it’s unrealistic. Nick Jackson is incredible in the air as JR pointed out. Pentagon and Fenix kept up with him, so did Matt and it was another excellent match from these four guys. Why isn’t the rating higher? It’s just my feeling after the match. I don’t think it was too long. It felt just right. I just think it’s a couple of notches below five stars, which is fine because it’s still an amazing match.

After the match, two guys in masks went into the ring. They shoved the Lucha Brothers off the ladders and stomped away on them. The masked guys went after the Young bucks with a flipping neckbreaker/Powerbomb combination on Nick to put him down. The masked guys unmasked to reveal it was Santana and Ortiz aka LAX. The fans cheered because they were free agents and this means they are joining All Elite Wrestling. They took out a Puerto Rican flag to pose in the ring. They left looking proud of themselves.

Analysis: That was a great way to debut Santana and Ortiz after a tremendous match. They are an outstanding tag team that had a very good run in Impact Wrestling, then their contracts ran out and now they are in AEW. That’s awesome news for the tag team division. The early reports are they won’t be using the LAX name in AEW because it’s an Impact Wrestling name, so we’ll see what they end up being called.

Replays aired of the key spots in the match. Lucha Brothers celebrated the win.

It was announced that the next AEW PPV is called Full Gear on Saturday, November 9 in Baltimore. I don’t think that’s a great PPV name, but it doesn’t matter. The quality of the show matters. It’s not like every PPV name in wrestling history has been great. Plenty of bad ones! A commercial aired promoting the event.

The video package aired to set up Chris Jericho vs. Adam Page for the brand new AEW World Championship. Page earned the match by winning the battle royal at Double or Nothing and Jericho earned the title shot by beating Kenny Omega at the same show. Jericho attacked Page at Fight for the Fallen and bloodied him, so Page was coming for his revenge as well as the title.

It was a unique entrance for “Hangman” Adam Page because he was riding a horse as he entered the arena. The fans gave him a big ovation. They showed Adam’s mom, dad and wife in the crowd to watch him in the main event. The AEW World Championship was shown at ringside.

Chris Jericho made his entrance to the Fozzy song “Judas” and as you probably know, Fozzy is his band with Jericho as the lead singer. Jericho had on some elaborate gear with a leather jacket that had spikes, a scarf and a top hat. There was some pyro for his entrance as well.

Page and Edwards stood on opposite sides of the ring as Justin Roberts did the championship introductions. He noted that there’s no time limit. Jericho was in pretty good shape especially for somebody that’s 48 years old while Page is 28 years old, so there’s a big age difference. The referee for the match is Aubrey Edwards, so that’s pretty cool that they have a female referee for the first AEW World Title match. The announcers put over Aubrey as well.

AEW World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

The fans were chanting for both guys as Jericho got a takedown with armdrags. Page with a chop to the chest, he caught Jericho, fallaway slam and a clothesline that sent Jericho over the top to the floor. Back in the ring, Page with a boot to the face for two. Jericho with a missile dropkick off the middle ropes for two. With Jericho on the floor, Page with a suicide dive to send Jericho into the barricade. JR noted we’ve seen that move a lot tonight, which is a nice way of saying it’s overdone. Page went up top and he hit a clothesline for two. Page went for a Shooting Star Press flip off the apron, but Jericho countered with a Codebreaker double knees to the face. Page was on the apron, so Jericho punched him and sent him to the barricade. Jericho wrenched on the left arm of Page against the barricade right by Page’s family. Jericho grabbed the ring bell, he teased hitting it as he won the match and he tossed the ring bell down. The referee was outside the ring with them, so there was no count. Jericho with a single arm takedown, then he gave the middle finger to some critical fans at ringside and did some flexing. The fans chanted “stupid idiot” at Jericho as he wrenched on the left arm of Page. Jericho did a senton back splash. Page came back with punches, but Jericho stopped his momentum with a dropkick for two. They got into a sequence of moves where Jericho jumped off the top with a cross body block, Page rolled through and slowly hit a fallaway slam. That did not look smooth.

Page did a kip up, a rolling senton and a running clothesline. Page hit a standing Shooting Star Press that barely connected for a two count. They each countered moves with Page hitting a Russian legsweep off the middle ropes while Jericho was going for a Lionsault. Jericho countered a Page move and slapped on the Walls of Jericho although it was more of a Boston Crab. Page powered out of the submission attempt and hit a discus elbow above the eye of Jericho. That busted open Jericho, who rolled to the floor to do the blade job above the left eye. Sometimes wrestlers bust somebody open hardway by hitting them above the eye like that, but this could have been a blade job. Jericho walked around the ring, the referee wasn’t counting again and Page worked over Jericho with punches. Page whipped Jericho into the barricade. Back in the ring, Page with a clothesline and he stomped away on Jericho. Page charged, Jericho lifted him over the top and face first into the turnbuckle. They battled on the top rope with Page hitting a neckbreaker off the top for a two count. Page with another discus elbow to the face. Jericho suplexed Page in a position that sent Page ribs first into the top rope. Jericho went for a springboard attack off the apron, but Page countered with a superkick. Page hit the Buckshot Lariat. Page went for the Deadeye, but Jericho countered it into a Walls of Jericho that looked like a Boston Crab again. The blood was pouring into Jericho’s eye as Page crawled to get to the ropes. Jericho: “ASK HIM!” I love that. Jericho held onto the hold as Page got to the ropes, Edwards pushed him back, Jericho shoved her in the shoulder and she got in Jericho’s face telling him she’s the official. Page with a back body drop that sent Jericho over the top to the floor. Page jumped off the top rope with a moonsault onto Jericho where he only hit Jericho with an arm to the head. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat again, but Jericho hit a Codebreaker for two. Nice nearfall there. Jericho ran the ropes and Page hit another rolling elbow to the face. Page went for a running Shooting Star Press, Jericho got the knees up to block. Jericho went for a Codebreaker, Page went for the Deadeye, Jericho got a rollup and Page managed to connect with the Deadeye for one…two…no. Jericho kicked out. Page connected with the Buckshot Lariat again. Jericho blocked a Deadeye attempt, Page landed on his feet and Jericho hit the Judas Effect spinning back elbow for the one…two…and three at 26:25. Jericho is the first ever AEW World Champion.

Winner by pinfall and New AEW World Champion: Chris Jericho

Analysis: ***1/4 The match was good, but not the epic match that you might think an AEW World Title match might be. I think going nearly 30 minutes into a five-hour show (counting the pre-show) is too long. I understand wanting to go long because it’s the first AEW World Title match. If they went closer to 15 minutes it would have been a faster-paced and better match. Some more believable nearfalls would have helped too. Page did a good job of selling most of the match and the fans got into his comeback, but at no point did I really believe in him as a main event face. He’s still young and he might get there, but he’s not there right now. They need to build Page more. The Judas Effect elbow looks cool when Jericho does it although I don’t think it’s that impactful as a finisher. The crowd did react to it in a big way, though, so it makes sense to keep using it. Anyway, I’m fine with Jericho winning because that was my pick.

Jericho was handed the AEW World Championship and by this point, there wasn’t much blood on his face. Jericho had his hand raised with the AEW World Title in his hands. JR tried letting us know that Jericho was as good as he has ever been right now, which isn’t really true, but it’s smart to say when you work for AEW. They showed replays of the big spots in the match.

Jericho stood on the stage with the AEW World Title in his hands while Page was down at ringside by his family. Jericho had a big smile on his face. I could hear a director or somebody counting down from ten as Jericho looked into the camera and the show ended there.

Analysis: They can have Jericho as a heel champion for a few months, then Page or somebody can be built up as a face to go after the title. Page is likely going to move on to the feud with Pac that was set up earlier this year.

This event had a run time of 3:53:22 on B/R Live. That’s just the PPV. Add another hour for the Buy-In pre-show as well.

Here’s an All Out post-show video.

Five Stars of the Show

1. Pentagon/Fenix
2. Matt Jackson/Nick Jackson
3. Pac
4. Kenny Omega
5. Cody

Final Thoughts

It gets a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

It was a very good show for the most part although Double or Nothing was better earlier this year. The Lucha Brothers/Young Bucks match stood out as the best match on the show with an incredible array of moves from both teams. I liked Omega/Pac a lot as well while the finish of that match was the most surprising result. The main event with Jericho winning the AEW Title felt like an average match. The lack of storylines hurt some of the matches. Once they get their TV show going on October 2, they will be able to do a better job of building to the next PPV in November.

The set looked cool, but they need to put the barricades back a few more feet. At other times, guys were doing dives over the top and crashing into the barricade because there was no room. It seemed like there was a suicide dive in nearly every match and about 500 superkicks. I’m joking about that part, but some of the matches feel the same with guys wrestling similar styles. One of the common things on these AEW shows is there are always matches on every show they’ve done where a few of them run too long. I realize that wrestlers want to get their stuff in, but give me a fast-paced 10-minute match over going 18 minutes just so everybody can hit their cool moves. It’s about the story, not hitting 20 superkicks per match. The excellent Cody/Dustin match from Double or Nothing showed that. We need more of that. I know it’s not easy to get that kind of story, but they definitely need to give us more storylines to make us care more about the matches. As I mentioned above, with AEW on TNT starting soon, hopefully there will be more interest in the matches too.

Shoutout to Arn Anderson for the spinebuster. That drew one of the loudest reactions of the night. I enjoyed that a lot.

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That’s all for me. Check out the full list of my AEW PPV Review archive right here.

Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.

John Canton

Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter @johnreport